PROFESSIONAL

PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE FIELDS
RUNNERS – WOMEN
Esther Atkins
Country: United States
Age: 30
Date of Birth: April 20, 1986
Residence: Greenville, SC
Personal Best: 2:33:15, Boston, MA, 2014
New York City Marathon History: Debut
Career Highlights
2016 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon 11th 2:37:56
2015 IAAF World Championships Marathon 24th 2:38:15
2014 USA Marathon Championships 1st 2:34:01
2013 USA Marathon Championships 3rd 2:34:32
2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon 27th 2:37:21
Atkins walked on to the cross country and track teams at Case Western Reserve University;
by the end of her freshman year, she had progressed from a 21:49 5K in cross country to an
18:42 for 5000 meters on the track. Her senior year, she won the NCAA Division III title for
10,000 meters in 35:45.01, and then took a Fulbright fellowship teaching in Vienna, Austria
for the next two years. Once back stateside, she qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials
Marathon; at the Trials, she sang the national anthem before finishing 27th in the race.
In 2013, Atkins made it onto her first podium at the USA Marathon Championships,
placing third, and won her first national title at the event the following year. The win earned
her a spot on Team USA for the 2015 IAAF World Championships Marathon, where she
finished as the second American and 24th overall. In her second Olympic Trials Marathon
this February, she improved to 11th place. Atkins (née Erb) married fellow long-distance
runner Cole Atkins on September 26, 2015; the couple recently moved from Blowing Rock,
NC to Greenville, SC. Atkins is also one of the top NYRR members entered in the TCS New
York City Marathon; representing the New York Athletic Club, she placed second at the
Airbnb Brooklyn Half in May and won the five-mile NYRR Team Championships race in July
of this year.
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